Systems and methods for digitizing video related to products

ABSTRACT

In one embodiment, the present invention is a t-commerce platform, which is linked to the content from a video signal that the user is currently watching. At some point during the broadcast of the content, a close-up of the product is shown. Simultaneous with this, a VBI-based trigger is added to the video signal of the broadcast. This trigger causes the television, a set-top box, or a similar device to capture in a memory, a “freeze-frame” of the image being shown. This action is transparent to the user while the video being displayed on the television is continuing normally. If the user chooses to perform an interactive “buy” transaction the saved image data is used as part of the interactive screen display.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/360,377, filed Feb. 27, 2002and entitled “VIDEO CLIPPING SYSTEM,” the entire content of which ishereby expressly incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to interactive televisionsystems. More specifically, this invention is directed to a system andmethod for capturing video clips for television commerce.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Television commerce or t-commerce is conventionally viewed as a subsetof interactive television and is generally defined as electroniccommerce where the electronic commerce transactions occur over themedium of television, or similar devices. Although t-commerce is stillin its early stages, it is projected to play a significant role in thegrowth and acceptance of interactive television.

T-commerce transactions may be conducted in a full screen televisionmode, or through an interactive program guide (“IPG”). Generallyspeaking, an IPG is an on-screen listing of television programinformation with interactive functions that enable users to navigatethrough, sort, select and schedule television programming for viewingand recording. An IPG may include different regions for displayingadvertisements and other messages.

Alternatively, the t-commerce opportunity may be presented to a useroutside of the IPG. For example, advertising or t-commerce opportunitiesmay be presented to a user in connection with a currently broadcasttelevision program or advertisement. The head end, or the serviceprovider typically transmits a video or video image for each productbeing advertised. These transmitted images are typically large and takea lot of transmission bandwidth and local storage.

Therefore, there is a need for a television system and method that iscapable of providing images for products offered on television in suchway to improve the transmission bandwidth and local storage for theimages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, the present invention is a method for capturing a videoframe related to a product from a video signal. It includes receiving avideo image in the video signal; receiving a trigger in the videosignal; digitizing a frame of the received video image, responsive tothe received trigger; storing the digitized image in the memory;invoking software to perform a function related to the product; anddisplaying the stored image, responsive to the invoking the software.

In another aspect, the present invention is a television system forcapturing a video frame related to a product from a video signal. Itincludes a receiver for receiving a video image in the video signal; aVBI decoder for decoding a trigger in the video signal; a video displaygenerator for digitizing a frame of the received video image, responsiveto the received trigger; a memory for storing the digitized image; aninput device for invoking software to perform a function related to theproduct; and a display screen for displaying the stored image,responsive to the invoking the software.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The objects, advantages and features of this invention will become moreapparent from a consideration of the following detailed description andthe drawings in which:

FIG. 1A is an exemplary IPG, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 1B is an exemplary remote controller, in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exemplary block diagram of a television system, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an exemplary flow diagram for a video clipping method, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an exemplary illustration of a scheduling component of anadvertisement, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 is an exemplary illustration of a programming component of anadvertisement, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 6 is an exemplary illustration of how information is retrieved fromthe ad and IPG databases, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In one embodiment, the present invention is a t-commerce platform, whichis linked to the content from a video signal that the user is currentlywatching. An example for the use of this technology is homeshopping-style networks, or infomercials which display many differentproducts over the course of a day. At some point during the broadcast ofthe content, a close-up of the product is shown. Simultaneous with this,a VBI-based trigger is added to the video signal of the broadcast. Thistrigger causes the television, a set-top box, or a similar device tocapture in a memory, a “freeze-frame” of the image being shown. Thisaction is transparent to the user while the video being displayed on thetelevision is continuing normally. If the user chooses to perform aninteractive “buy” transaction (or even browsing), the saved image datais used as part of the interactive screen display.

Although, in some embodiments, the present invention uses an IPG as aplatform with which to execute the innovations described herein, theinvention is not IPG platform dependent. That is, for some embodimentsof the present invention, it is not necessary that the user interactwith an IPG. Furthermore, for some embodiments of the present invention,it is not necessary that the interactive display system of an IPG beavailable on the user's television. That is, according to one aspect ofthe present invention, administering the t-commerce transaction by thetelevision user is independent of any user profile information and isindependent of the user's interactivity with, or even the existence of,an IPG.

In order to complete the t-commerce transaction, a back channel orreturn path would need to be integrated with the television, and/or theIPG. The back channel could be a two-way cable, pager network, telephonenetwork, cellular telephone network, Internet, or other similar means ofupstream communication from users to their service providers or otherrelated third parties. Those skilled in the art should realize thesignificant investment in infrastructure (e.g., back channel, inventory,shipping, billing systems, etc.) that is necessary to enable sucht-commerce transactions. A two-way interactive television system usingpager transmitter and receiver is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,812,931;and cable and Internet back links are described in U.S. Pat. No.6,388,714 B1; the entire contents of which are hereby expresslyincorporated by reference.

An exemplary IPG is illustrated in FIG. 1A. The IPG includes one or moreinteractive advertising panels 12, 14, and 16 through which interactiveadvertising or t-commerce opportunities can be delivered to users. Thecontent delivered through the interactive advertising panels may beprogram or product related content. For example, advertising panel 14may be utilized to advertise an upcoming program on one of the channelslisted in the IPG. Additionally, the user may be prompted or have theability to perform certain actions in relation to the program. Forexample, the user may have the option to set a reminder to tune to orrecord the advertised program at the time it is broadcast in the future.Additionally, the user may have the option to block access to theadvertised program using a parental control feature offered by the IPG.If the advertised program is a pay program (e.g., PPV, VOD, etc.), theuser might also be prompted or have the ability to purchase theadvertised program. As mentioned above, such a transaction would requirea back channel or return path integrated with the IPG.

Additionally, advertising panel 16 may be utilized to advertise aproduct through the IPG. The product may or may not be related to one ormore of the programs listed in the IPG. Using a remote control or otherinput device, a user may select the product-related advertising panel.Selecting the product-related advertisement provides the user withadditional information about the advertised product. Additionally, theuser may be prompted or have the ability to perform certain actions inrelation to the product.

For example, the user has the option to purchase the advertised product.To complete the transaction, the user is prompted to provide certainpersonal information (e.g., contact, credit card, billing informationetc.). This information may be entered by the user at the time of thetransaction, or alternatively, the user may select to use similarinformation that was previously stored within the system.

An improvement to an IPG is the collection of extensive informationconcerning a particular user, described as a user's profile. Creation ofa user's profile is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,177,931 B1 (“the '931patent”), the entire content of which is hereby expressly incorporatedby reference. Also described in the '931 patent is the utilization of auser's profile to customize the presentation to the user ofadvertisement. In the '931 patent, the presentation of advertising iscustomizable for every mode in which advertisement is presented to theuser, including the customization of advertising presented as part ofthe IPG display and the customization of advertising delivered by thetelevision tuner.

Referring back to FIG. 1A, a television screen display 10 is shown.Display 10 could be generated by a conventional television receiver withinterlaced scan lines, by a VCR, by a PC monitor with progressive scanlines, or by another other type of video display device. In the upperleft hand corner of the screen is a picture-in-picture (PIP) window 12.Below window 12 are Panel Ad Windows 14, and 16 (“Ad Windows”) . Windows12, 14, and 16 each typically occupy about 1/9 of the total screen area.The remainder of the screen area is typically occupied (moving from topto bottom of the screen) by an action key bar 18, a navigation bar 20, agrid guide 22 (“Grid Guide”), and an information box 24 (the “detailedinformation area). In the embodiment pictured in FIG. 1A, the positionof the windows, and other user interface features, including the actionkey bar, navigation bar and Grid Guide, are fixed. In another embodimentof this invention, as is described further below, the position and sizeof the windows and other user interface features are customizable by theuser.

In FIG. 1B of the drawing, one embodiment of a remote controller 26 foractivating the functions of display 10 is shown. Remote controller 26could have other keys for activating the functions of a user videodevice, such as a television receiver, a VCR, or a cable box. Remotecontrol 26 has up, down, right, and left arrows keys 28, 30, 32, and 34,respectively, for controlling the movement of a cursor 36 on display 10.Cursor 36 can select, i.e., highlight, any of windows 12, 14, or 16 bypressing arrow keys 28 to 34, any of the titles and channels in GridGuide 22 by pressing arrow keys 32 and 34, or navigation bar 20 bypressing arrow keys 32 and 34. Windows 12, 14, and 16 are highlighted byadding a border around the window or changing the color of the border,if the border is permanent. The titles and channels in Grid Guide 22 andnavigation bar 20 are highlighted by changing color.

Highlighting of windows and/or user selections from the Grid Guideand/or navigation and IPG on screen display components may beaccomplished in a number of other ways. For instance, the border of aselected window, or the selected Grid Guide or navigation component, canbe made to appear to flash. Another way to highlight a user selection isto make the selected window or feature appear to become brighter thanthe rest of the on screen display. Yet another way to highlight a userselection is to blur all portions of the on screen display, except forthe user selected component. Still another way to highlight a userselection is to make all portions of the on screen display, except forthe user selected component, appear transparent. Still yet another wayto highlight a user selection is to add animation to the selectedcomponent. When a portion of the IPG is selected, the system issuesgraphic display commands to a video display generator to implement oneor more of the desired functions.

The user enters the Guide Mode illustrated in FIG. 1A by pressing a“guide” key 35 and returns to the full screen Television Mode bypressing key 35 again or by pressing the “select” key. A real timetelevision program is displayed in window 12. A translucent overlay ofthe PIP window 12 can display the title, channel (local number and/orstation name), and status (locked or unlocked) of window 12 over thetelevision program so the user can still see the entire image.

The PIP Window can be locked or unlocked. The “lock/unlock” mode is usercontrolled. To lock or unlock the PIP Window, the user can use a PIPbutton on the remote control device, or can highlight and press theLock/Unlock IPG action button. The lock/unlock status is recorded andmaintained until the status is reset by the user. That is, thelock/unlock status for the PIP Window in the IPG is maintained when theuser leaves the Guide and later re-enters the Guide, including when theuser turns off the television. If the user selects the “lock” status,the last channel to which the tuner was set in the PIP Window continuesto be displayed regardless of the actions exercised by the user. In theunlocked status, the channel highlighted by cursor 36 in Grid Guide 22is displayed if the Grid Guide is displaying currently telecast programsand the last currently telecast channel that was highlighted isdisplayed if the Grid Guide is displaying future programs.

There are generally three results to leaving the Guide, depending uponthe way the user leaves the Guide. If the user, while in the IPG, wantsto watch in full screen mode the program shown in the PIP Window, thenthe user can press the Guide button on the remote control device. If theuser, while in the IPG, highlights a particular channel in the GridGuide, and then presses the “select” button, the user leaves the Guideto view in the full screen mode the television program that the userhighlighted in the Guide. If the user, while in the IPG, presses the“clear” or “cancel” button on the remote control device, then the userleaves the Guide and return to the television program that the user waswatching immediately before entering the Guide.

Typically, an ad for a future telecast program is displayed in window14. This ad is linked to the time and channel of the program in RAM sothe user can watch or record the program automatically by pressing theblue left action button to watch the program, or the green right actionbutton to record the program.

Typically, an ad for a product or service is displayed in window 16.This ad is linked to more information about the product or service inRAM so the user can read one or more pages about the product or servicein window 16 by pressing an “info” key 40 one or more times.Alternatively, this ad is linked to the time and channel in RAM that aninfomercial about the product or service will be telecast so the usercan watch or record the infomercial automatically by pressing “select”key 42.

Bar 18 displays a blue button 44 and/or a green button 46 with legendsthat depend upon the context of the information displayed on the screen.Remote controller 26 has corresponding keys 48 and 50, respectively, toactivate the functions represented by blocks 44 and 46.

From window 12, 14, or 16 the user moves to grid guide 22 by pressingarrow key 32. (From grid guide 22 the user moves to window 12, 14, or 16by pressing arrow key 34.) In grid guide 22 the user moves cursor 36 tohighlight one of the nine tiles in which channel and title are displayedby pressing arrow keys 28 and 30. The user can view program listingsscheduled at future times by pressing keys 32 or 34 to move horizontallyabout the Grid.

From grid guide 22 the user moves to navigation bar 20 by pressing arrowkey 28. Initially, the center button is highlighted. To highlight adifferent button, arrow key 32 or 34 is pressed. To enter the screenrepresented by the highlighted button, “select” key 42 is pressed.

In grid guide 22 details about the program represented by thehighlighted tile are displayed. If more information is available thisfact is indicated by an icon and such information is displayed in thearea occupied by grid guide 22, instead of the grid guide by pressing“info” key 40. To return to the grid guide, “info” key 40 is pressedagain. After an action button has been pressed or an icon on navigationbar 20 has been activated, an instructional prompt may be substitutedfor the program information in information box 24.

In addition to the tiles representing television programs, a virtualchannel ad can be displayed in grid guide 22 on a tile 52. A virtualchannel ad may promote, for instance, a current or future televisionprogram. Such a virtual channel ad for a television program is linked tothe time and channel of the program in RAM so the user can watch orrecord the program automatically by pressing “select” key 42 in themanner described in the referenced application. More than one virtualchannel ad may be stored in RAM, but preferably only one such ad isdisplayed at a time.

In some embodiments, data for the IPG schedule, and/or supplementalinformation relevant to the program listings, and/or advertising data,can be downloaded to the memory resident at the user's televisionsystem. In one embodiment of the download data system, the user asks theIPG to make certain types of information available; the IPG uses anindex of where to find the information and automatically connects to theappropriate data source and downloads the information. Data for the IPGschedule, and/or supplemental information relevant to the programlistings, and/or advertising data, can be downloaded from varioussources. In one embodiment, data is downloaded from the Internet. Inother embodiments of the download data system, the user is asked to tuneto a particular channel at a particular time if the user is interestedin accessing and downloading particular types of information.

Not all embodiments require that data be downloaded to the IPG memory.In one embodiment, the IPG scheduling data, supplemental data and/oradvertising data and the software to format, display, and navigate theIPG scheduling data, supplemental data and/or advertising data isaccessed by the user's television system through a direct link betweenthe user's television system and the Internet.

In one embodiment of the above-described direct-link to the Internet,the user's television is connected to the Internet by telephone line viamodem, by cable modem, by other two-way communication device, includingwireless modem communication devices, and/or by other conventionalmethods of communicating with the Internet. The initial connect web siteaddress may be supplied, for instance, through information transmittedto the user's television over the VBI. The user may also be providedwith a selection of multiple IPG Internet web sites. The user uses theremote control device to select one of the IPG Internet web sites Theuser's television system is programmed to emulate a computer havingon-line access to the Internet. Once the connection between the user'stelevision system and the Internet is made, the user has two-waycommunication with the on-line Internet service providers of the IPGrelated information. The user can then navigate through the IPG.Furthermore, in one embodiment, in which keyboard user interface isavailable, the user can enter chat rooms or other interactive services.

In one embodiment, when the user highlights a particular program in theGuide, the Ad Window, or a Virtual Channel Ad Slot, or makes otheraccess requests to detailed program-related information, the IPGconnects the user with an external database of information, such as witha particular web site on the Internet. The user can instruct the IPG toconnect the user with detailed specialized information guides/dataservices, such as sports, news, or other guides/data services. In oneembodiment, the linking to the external data source is accomplished bystoring a web site address with the Ad Window or Virtual Channel Ad Slotadvertisement in the RAM of the user terminal.

In one embodiment, the user can access the Internet to send and receivee-mail. In another embodiment, the television terminal is separatelyaddressable, and the head end controls e-mail traffic between users onits network. In one embodiment, to facilitate two-way transmission or atoll free number is used as a back link. E-mail can then be sent to theappropriate user through the VBI to the user's separately addressabletelevision.

In a Recording Function, the user instructs the IPG what programs to addto the Record List, which is the list of programs and relatedprogramming schedule information, for programs that the user want tohave recorded. As is further described below, the user can identify thefrequency/regularity with which the user wants to record each programlisted in the Record List.

The user can enter the Recording Function in a number of ways. The usercan press the “Record” key, if there is one, on the user's remotecontrol device. Alternatively, the user can “press” a “Record” actionbutton on the IPG display. One embodiment of the present inventionprovides the user with the option of recording a particular program“regularly.” The “regularly” option can be selected when the userhighlights a particular program title on the IPG Grid Guide. Userselection of the “regularly” option instructs the VCR control system torecord the particular title on the selected channel at the selected timeslot any day of the week that the program is telecast. If a telecast ofthe selected title is preempted by another program, the new program isnot recorded. The change in the telecast schedule is determined bycomparing the title of the selected program to the title of the programactually telecast. In one embodiment of the invention, it is assumedthat the title of the program actually telecast is carried in thevertical blanking interval of the television signal. When the user hasinstructed the IPG to “regularly” record a particular program, if theselected program is preempted by another program, the preempting programis not recorded and the IPG displays a message notifying the user thatthe selected program was preempted and was not recorded.

In one embodiment, the user can instruct the IPG to record programs onrecordable Digital Video Discs (DVD's), hard disks, or similar recordingmediums. Because of the extended storage capacity of DVD's, the user caninstruct the IPG to record and index an extended period of programming.For instance, the user can instruct the IPG to record and index withcertain numbers, e.g., 4 hours of CNN news broadcasts. When the user isready to view the recording, the IPG displays the index on screen. Theuser can then select to view either the entire recording, or only thoseportions of the recording in which the user is interested.

In one embodiment, program-level indexing of recorded programs iscreated. In another embodiment, intra-program indexing is created byusing information transmitted in the VBI of the video transmitted. Inthis embodiment, a recording of CNN would likely show indexingbreakdowns that include themes, such as “International News,” “NationalNews,” “Sports,” “Entertainment,” “Business & Finance,” and “Weather.”

The IPG user interface (UI) screen provides for multiple viewable“windows.” One window presents the IPG Grid Guide. Another windowpresents the picture-in-picture (PIP) window on which the currentlytuned program is displayed. Another window displays advertisinginformation (the “Ad Window”) . Advertising may be in the form ofgraphics and textual information. Alternatively, advertising may be inthe form of video display. In one embodiment, the Ad Windows areinteractive.

As described further below, the user can also highlight the Ad Window.Doing so causes additional text describing the product to be displayedin the detail box are of the IPG Grid Guide. If the Ad Window displaysinformation about a particular product, pressing a record buttoninstructs the IPG to record an infomercial, to the extent that one isscheduled for a future time. Alternatively, the Ad Window can displayinformation about a future-scheduled television program or about aseries of programs to be telecast over a period of time. In that case,pressing a record button instructs the IPG to record thefuture-scheduled program. Alternatively, the user can designate theprogram for the Watch List.

In one embodiment, the user navigates from the Grid Guide to the PIPWindow by pressing the left arrow key until the cursor/highlightingreaches the PIP Window. From the PIP Window, the user uses the rightarrow key to move back to the Grid Guide. In one embodiment, moving fromthe PIP Window to the Grid Guide causes the cursor to scroll to the verytop of the Grid Guide lineup. From the top of the Grid Guide lineup,pressing the up arrow key moves the cursor to the navigation bar. TheIPG provides several possible destinations on the navigation bar, e.g.,info center, sports, news, set up, help, etc.

In one embodiment of this invention, the position and size of thewindows and other user interface features are customizable by the user.In one embodiment, the IPG creates special translucency visual effects.To create the translucency effect, the system alternates the displayformat pixel by pixel, where one pixel is the color of the overlay andthe next pixel is transparent.

In one embodiment, the IPG is capable of formatting on-screennotifications (messages) to the user and displays the notification tothe user. On-screen notifications can be used to alert the user to anynumber of possible items of information. For instance, the IPG cannotify the user that a product is available for purchase, or that theIPG begins recording a particular program within a certain amount oftime, e.g., 2 minutes. The record notification could further ask theuser whether to switch the cable box or other tuner (e.g., a satellitereceiver) to record the program. If the user indicated that the user didnot want the IPG to switch to the cable box to record the program, thenthe IPG would delete the program from the record list.

Another example would be to notify the user that a program that may beof interest (e.g., as determined from analyzing the User's Profile) willbe broadcast on another channel within a certain amount of time, e.g., 2minutes. The IPG could then ask if the user wants to view the program onthe other channel. If the user indicates that the user wants to watchthe program on the other channel, then the IPG automatically tunes tothe other channel at the appropriate time. Alternatively, the IPG couldask the user if the user wants to record the program on the otherchannel and could then record that program at the appropriate time ifthe user answers affirmatively.

If the television is in television mode, the notification is displayedon-screen. The notification can be displayed in a number of ways,including: 1.) a complete screen overlay; 2.) a partial screen overlay;3.) The real time program video is automatically changed to a PIPformat, and the notification is displayed outside of the PIP window; 4.)The real time program video is automatically changed to a PIP format,and the notification is displayed inside of the PIP window; 5.) as a“watermark” somewhere on-screen; 6.) an on-screen icon is displayedwhich can be “pressed” by the user using the navigation keys on theuser's remote control device, and which, if pressed, displays thenotification in one of the above formats; 7.) the program video iscompressed slightly to fit in some percentage, e.g., 90%, of the top ofthe screen, and the notification is displayed as a horizontally-rollingmessage at the bottom of the screen; and 8.) the program video iscompressed slightly to fit in some percentage, e.g., 90%, of the bottomof the screen, and the notification is displayed as ahorizontally-rolling message at the top of the screen.

If the television is in some mode other than the television mode, theIPG can notify the user through some modification of one of theabove-described formats. For instance, if the television is in the GridGuide mode in a PIP format, then the IPG could use any of format numbers1.), 2.) , 5.), 6.), 7.), 8.) or, the IPG could notify the user bydisplaying the notification in the Ad Window, a virtual ad channel slot,in the detail information window, or in a horizontally-rolling messageat the top or bottom of the screen.

The IPG is also capable of supporting parental control of the IPGdisplay. In one embodiment, the Parent user initially enters theParental Control Function during initial IPG setup procedures. In theIPG setup procedure, the Parent identifies all users of the television,and assigns individual user Identifiers. The Parent user alsoestablishes a password for said Parent user. U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 09/310,433, filed on May 12, 1999 (“V-CHIP Plus+: In-Guide UserInterface Apparatus and Method”) describes Parental Control setupprocedures for the identification of individual users and initializationof password protection, the entire content of which is hereby expresslyincorporated by reference.

In the Parental Control Function, the Parent selects the channels andprograms that can be visible in the Grid Guide for a particular user andselects channels and/or programs that are to be blocked from viewing.Child users, as identified during setup procedure, view a simplifiedGrid Guide and are blocked from viewing the programs so marked by theParent. In one embodiment, individual users are identified by user IDand password. In another embodiment, individual users have differentremote control devices, the use of which is also password protected.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary block diagram of a television system, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention. According to apre-established criteria, the head end delivery provider inserts atrigger command in the VBI of one or more television signals.Optionally, the trigger command is accompanied by a duration, expressed,for instance, in seconds. The pre-established criteria for the VBItrigger command insertion can be based on, for instance, a schedule ofadvertisements as identified in a channel, program and advertisementscheduling table. Alternatively, the head end delivery providerinterrogates the outgoing signal and detects a particular event, suchas, for instance, a change from television programming to commercialadvertising, or the broadcast of a particular advertisement. The triggercommand instructs the receiving television set to initiate specificfunctions, as described below.

As shown in FIG. 2, the television receiver 270 receives the inputtelevision signal 200 by a signal receiver 210. The signal receiver 210sends the television signal to the VBI decoder 235 to decode theinformation carried in the VBI of the signal. The VBI decoder 235 thensends the decoded VBI information to the microprocessor 240 foranalysis. The user interacts with the system using a remote controller(IR transmitter) 215 and/or a keypad 218. Other user input devices suchas voice recognition devices may also be used. The IR receiver receivesuser's commands and passes the commands to the user interface unit 230.The user interface unit then passes the commands to the microprocessor240 to process the input commands. A video recorder 212 can beinstructed by the microprocessor to record television programs at thespecified time. An optional PIP unit 214 may be used to compress(decimate) the video picture to be displayed in a PIP window.

In one embodiment, the trigger instruction for capturing a video imageframe is implemented when the user is watching the television intelevision mode. In this application, television mode refers to theoperation of a television whereby the user is watching the televisionwith the television display fully occupying the television's displaymonitor, and during a time when real-time television signals (as opposedto recorded video signals) are displayed on the television. Considerthen, a particular user's television set 270 that is tuned to Channel A.When the microprocessor 240 receives a trigger command in the VBI ofChannel A from the VBI decoder 235, the microprocessor causes the videodisplay generator 255 to capture a video frame of the video image beingdisplayed on Channel A. If there is a PIP circuitry (PIP unit 214 inFIG. 2) already in the system, the captured video frame can bedecompressed using the PIP circuitry, as explained below. If the VBItrigger command is accompanied by a time or duration component, then thevideo frame is captured at the specified time. Communication link 242 isutilized for a two-way communication link between the television systemand a remote site, such as a head end, a service provider, a website, amerchant, or any other third party. For example, the communication linkmay be utilize to download the application software for performing afunction related to the product. Communication link 242 may support oneor more of a telephone network, a wireless network, a pager network, theInternet, and other similar communication networks.

In one embodiment, at some point during the broadcast of a televisionprogram, a close-up of a product is shown on television receiver 270.Simultaneous with this, a VBI-based trigger is added to the videosignal. This trigger causes the microprocessor 240 to capture afreeze-frame of the product image being shown in the RAM 250. If theuser decides to purchase the product, the saved image data is used bythe video display generator 255 as part of the interactive screendisplay.

During a full screen advertisement, an icon may appear on the screen toalert the user that an interactive advertising or t-commerce opportunityis available. Using a remote control or other input device, a user mayselect the icon. Selecting the icon provides the user with additionalinformation about the advertised product and means for ordering theadvertised product. For example, the user may be presented withadditional information and instructions on how to order a pizza or acamera directly through the television. This information may beaugmented with the display of the captured video frame.

The trigger instruction of the present invention can also be implementedif the user is in the IPG mode. In this application, IPG mode refers tothe operation of a television whereby the user has activated the IPG. Inthis mode, the captured video frame is displayed in an IPG (e.g., apanel ad area) by the IPG display generator 260.

FIG. 3 is an exemplary flow diagram for a video clipping method,according to one embodiment of the present invention. In block 310, aninteractive software application is downloaded to the television system.Alternatively, the interactive software application could be resident inthe television system. In this case, the product or service data can bedownloaded. The interactive software application includes program and/orcode which describes an interactive application relating to purchasingor learning further about a product (e.g., displaying more detailedinformation about the product). As part of the application dataset, aVBI trigger is defined. This definition may include the data codes to besearched, where on various VBI lines the code may be found (such as XDSor other lines), and optionally expiration times for the trigger code'svalidity. Some of these functions may be implemented in Advance TVEnhancement Form (ATVEF) VBI triggers. In one embodiment, theinteractive software application is a client application software. Theclient application could be fairly generic, with text descriptions andprice information for many items which will be shown during the courseof a day, without memory intensive graphics for each item. Thisinformation could also be loaded dynamically with the VBI data,supporting last-minute changes of the items to be shown while the largerapplication stays resident.

During broadcast of a program or commercial (or a pre-recorded programor commercial) the trigger is included in the VBI of the video while theimage to be clipped is being shown. When the trigger is received by thetelevision system (block 320), the software application recognizes thetrigger and digitizes a video frame of the image being shown on thetelevision screen in block 330. The trigger to capture the video imagecan also include instructions regarding the exact frame to be captured(by timecode or other timing method), scaling and cropping of the videoimage, and the priority or retention time of the image for memorygarbage collection purposes. In block 340, the software applicationsaves a copy of the digitized image in the memory. This image willexpire from the memory, or the saved image may be overwritten if unused.In one embodiment, instructions included in the trigger cause thetelevision system to capture the image of a video signal in the absenceof the user. This way, the system can accomplish this functionunattended while the user is asleep or otherwise occupied.

If an (client) application relating to a displayed product is invokedwhile the image is still in memory, the stored image can be used toenhance the screen display and description in block 350. If the image ofa product was not captured for any reason, a simpler generic/defaultimage can be used. This way, the image of the product (which wouldotherwise be fairly large) is captured only when needed. Also, since thevideo display bandwidth is, for obvious reasons, considerably greaterthan VBI/data bandwidth, this scheme improves the display bandwidth ofthe image.

If PIP circuitry is included in the television system, the circuitry canbe used to capture a freeze-frame of the display and save it for lateruse. This is because the PIP circuitry already converts the analog videodata into digital video data. The broadcast image is already decimated(horizontal video lines removed throughout the) by the PIP circuitry tosqueeze a full 525 line picture into a PIP window that may beapproximately 100 lines or less, thus compressing the amount of datarepresenting the picture. Therefore, the same PIP circuitry can be usedto compress the captured image. A method and system for providing areal-time and high quality video in a smaller picture-in-guide (PIG)screen is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,397,386, the entire content ofwhich is hereby expressly incorporated by reference. This patentdescribes a decimation system and method for providing video data to aPIG window. One video pixel for every several video pixels is output, inreal time, for the PIG window based on some (pixel) averagingalgorithms. A PIG generator performs a real time weighted averaging toselect a subset of the pixels and a display generator displays thesubset of the pixels in the PIG window on a monitor. Alternatively, thevideo image can be captured by a dedicated hardware video capturecomponent or a combination of known hardware and software running onmicroprocessor 240.

The captured image can be further compressed using JPEG (a JPEGcompressor) or other compression techniques to save additional memory.As an extension of this approach, short video clips can be saved toadorn the t-commerce applications. Furthermore, the video captures madeaccording to this invention can be used in advertisements or othergraphics used in any other television-based application, such asinteractive program guides. The captured image (or a portion of it) mayalso be used with advertisement data stored in an ad database. Forexample, the captured image may be placed in an image frame of ad framestored in the ad database. The video captures could be used for theentire ad or graphic, or as background with additional text and/orgraphics combined with the video capture. A user profile may be utilizedto target the newly constructed ads to the user.

As described in the '931 patent (mentioned above), a user's profile iscreated by collecting information about a user. The IPG requests thatthe user provide certain profile information, including but not limitedto: the user's zip code; television, cable, and satellite services towhich the user subscribes; the length of said subscriptions; the type oftelevision; the age of the television; where the television waspurchased; the user's top favorite channels; the user's favorite typesof programs; and the times during which the user is most likely to watchtelevision. If the user declines to provide this information, the IPGattempts to “learn” the information as described below.

In one embodiment, the IPG is capable of distinguishing betweenindividual users and develops individualized profiles. For instance, inone embodiment, each user has an individual PIN or other identificationnumber. In another embodiment, each user uses an individualized remote.In yet another embodiment, there is an absence of a way to distinguishone user from another. In that case, the profile is developed for the“family.”

Every time the user interacts with the IPG or the television, the IPGrecords the user's actions and the circumstances surrounding thoseactions. For instance, when the user changes channels, the IPG records,among other things, information about the first channel, the changed-tochannel, the time that the change was made, the identification of theprogramming that was displayed on the first channel, the identificationof the programming that was displayed on the changed-to channel, thetime of the change, the identification of any advertisement that wasdisplayed on the first channel at the time of the change, theidentification of any advertisement that was displayed on the changed-tochannel, and whether the user changed channels while in one of the IPGmodes, as opposed to being in the television mode. The IPG also recordsevery instruction by the user to record or watch a program, whether theinstruction is Once, Daily, Weekly, or Regularly. The IPG also recordswhether the user changes the volume of the television audio, and if so,what circumstances surrounded the change in volume. If the user changeschannels while in one of the IPG modes, then the IPG records informationabout what was displayed in each of the windows of the IPG UI before andafter the change.

The IPG also records information when there is an absence of interactionbetween the user and the television or the IPG. For instance, the IPGrecords whether a user continues to view an advertisement rather thanchanging channels. The IPG calculates and records the entire duration ofthe time that the television is on in any particular day.

The IPG also records information surrounding the user's interaction withexternal sources of information, such as the Internet. For instance, theIPG records each search query criteria initiated by the user, the SearchEngine used to make the search, the items selected by the user from thesearch response, interaction by the user with Internet sites, and userinteractions with the IPG during the same time-frame as the userinteracts with the Internet.

An alternative to the above-described individual user profileinformation collection would be to provide on-screen screen that wouldtell the user to call a toll-free number for the purpose of reading anon-screen encrypted number for the survey in exchange for a giftcertificate. The offer could be made only to users watching a particularprogram or particular advertisement at a particular time. Surveyresponses would provide useful information further survey customization,customizing the guide, and targeting advertising.

As with television programming data, the television system may alsoreceive advertisement data in packets. The advertisement data is thenstored in an advertisement (ad) database. The advertisements typicallyrelate to general products, services, future television programs, andthe like. The advertisement data packets, according to one embodiment ofthe invention, comprise a scheduling component and a program component.

The two components are transmitted by an information broadcastingsystem. FIG. 4 is an exemplary illustration of the scheduling component.As illustrated in FIG. 4, the scheduling component includes a Start Timeand 24 hours worth of ad schedules. The Start Time is the time in whichthe advertisements are to be displayed, and can be any time during theday. Generally speaking, however, the Start Time of the ads is 12:00 am.Following the Start Time is a Duration field and an Ad ID for eachscheduled ad. The Duration field indicates the period for which aparticular ad is to be displayed. In one embodiment, ad durations mayrange from 5 minutes to 24 hours. The Ad ID is utilized to access the adcopy (text & graphics) for a particular ad.

In addition to the schedule component, the information broadcastingsystem also transmits a program component. The program component allowsthe television system to link to an advertised show. FIG. 5 illustratesa program component according to one embodiment of the invention. Asillustrated in FIG. 5, the program component includes an Ad ID, a GuideChannel, Start Time, and Duration. The Ad ID allows the Guide Channel,Start Time, and Duration fields to be associated with a particularadvertisement. The television system utilizes the Guide Channel to findthe program schedule information for that channel. The Start Time andDuration fields are used to find a particular program broadcast by thechannel.

According to one embodiment, the Guide Channel, Start Time, and Durationinformation are transmitted in the order the advertisements arescheduled. For instance, the first Guide Channel, Start Time, andDuration are associated with the first scheduled advertisement, thesecond Guide Channel, Start Time, and Duration are associated with thesecond scheduled advertisement, and so forth. Thus, according to thisalternative embodiment, the information broadcasting system need nottransmit the corresponding Ad IDs.

FIG. 6 is an illustration of how information is retrieved from the adand IPG databases. Beginning at the Start Time or upon receiving atrigger instruction, the television system retrieves an Ad ID (Ad ID1 inthis example), and locates the corresponding ad copy in theadvertisement database. Each ad copy includes a text field and a pointerto a logo/graphics. The text field contains special tags which serve asplaceholders for particular values. These placeholders might reservespace in the ad copy for the air time of an advertised show, anepisode's title/description, or any other information available from theIPG database. Accordingly, advertisements may be modified based on theinformation stored in the IPG database, and it no longer becomesnecessary to create new advertisements for different time zones ordifferent episode descriptions.

The ad entry further includes a pointer to an ad logo, if appropriate.The ad logo includes a graphics file of a logo (e.g., the NBC logo) orany other graphics data that is to be displayed with the ad. Thetelevision system utilizes the program component to link advertisementsto the corresponding television programs. This allows the televisionsystem to insert the appropriate information into the placeholders ofthe text of an advertisement. In addition, the linking of programs toadvertisements (about a television program) allows a user to schedule ashow for watching or viewing directly from the advertisement.

In linking advertisements to corresponding television programs accordingto one embodiment of the invention, the Guide Channel of the programcomponent is used to locate a map of pointers for a particular channel,each pointer corresponding to a show information package that containsdata for a four-hour block of television programming for that particularchannel. The Duration field allows the system to retrieve a particularprogram information within in a show information package. When theparticular program is located, the television system retrieves valuesnecessary for inserting information into the placeholders of thecorresponding advertisement. For instance, the program description maybe retrieved from the show information package and inserted into aprogram description placeholder within the ad. Furthermore, the time inwhich the program is to air may be retrieved and inserted into anair-time placeholder.

According to one embodiment, the IPG database contains programminginformation for an entire week. In this case, the Guide Channel is usedto locate a showlist handle table with a handle to a showlist for aparticular channel for the current day. The Start Time and Durationfields are used to locate the appropriate show description entry.

In another embodiment of the invention, the program component is notsent as a packet, but is created within the television system based oninformation transmitted with the advertisements in the schedulingcomponent. According to this embodiment, the information broadcastingsystem transmits with the scheduling component, the title of the programbeing searched for, a time range in which the show will be broadcast,and a network station indicator for finding the network stationbroadcasting the program. For instance, the ad may contain instructionsto “link to NBC show ‘Friends’ on Thursday evening.” With thisinformation, the television system searches the IPG database for theshow ‘Friends,’ and creates the program component for the correspondingad. In this way, a television system capable of tuning to multiple NBCaffiliates would select the channel of the NBC affiliate which thetelevision system is in fact tuned to.

While the illustrated embodiments have been described in connection withmodifying time and program descriptions for an advertisement of a futuretelevision program, it will be appreciated that other types ofadvertisement information may be modified if desired. Additionally, theadvertisement linked with the programs may also be linked with the userprofile in a similar way.

Information related to the advertised product and/or service, such asprice, telephone number, point of sales, web site address, dates ofpromotions, and the like may also be modified based on the informationstored in the IPG database. For example, if the web site address of aproduct merchant is changed, only the new web site address needs to betransmitted and then inserted to the appropriate field of the storedadvertisement when it is displayed in the IPG. Alternatively, the website address may be retrieved form the IPG database and combined with aportion of the stored advertisement. In another example, theadvertisement rotation information such as starting time and duration,and frequency of display can be retrieved from the IPG database andcombined with the advertisement content stored in the ad database fordisplaying in the IPG.

It will be recognized by those skilled in the art that variousmodifications may be made to the illustrated and other embodiments ofthe invention described above, without departing from the broadinventive scope thereof. It will be understood therefore that theinvention is not limited to the particular embodiments or arrangementsdisclosed, but is rather intended to cover any changes, adaptations ormodifications which are within the scope and spirit of the invention asdefined by the appended claims.

1. A method for capturing a video frame related to a product from avideo signal, the method comprising: receiving a video in the videosignal, the video comprising a plurality of frames relating to theproduct; receiving a trigger in the video signal, the triggeridentifying one of the plurality of frames relating to the product;digitizing the frame identified by the trigger, responsive to thereceived trigger; storing the digitized frame in a memory, responsive tothe received trigger; invoking downloaded software to perform a functionrelated to the product; displaying the stored frame, responsive to theinvoking the software; and providing an option to purchase the productrelated to the stored frame.
 2. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising downloading the software, wherein the downloaded softwareincludes an interactive application for performing a function related tothe product in a memory and invoking the downloaded software to performthe function related to the product.
 3. The method of claim 2, whereinthe software is downloaded from a vertical blanking interval of thevideo signal.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the software isdownloaded from the Internet.
 5. The method of claim 2, wherein thesoftware is downloaded from a telephone network.
 6. The method of claim2, wherein the software is downloaded from a wireless network.
 7. Themethod of claim 2, wherein the software is downloaded from a pagernetwork.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the performing a functionrelated to the product is performing a function related to purchasingthe product.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the performing a functionrelated to the product is performing a function related to displayingmore information about the product.
 10. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising displaying the received video on a television screen.
 11. Themethod of claim 1, wherein receiving a video comprises receiving a videoin a broadcast video signal.
 12. The method of claim 1, whereinreceiving a video comprises receiving a video in a replay of a recordedvideo signal.
 13. The method of claim 1, further comprising compressingthe digitized frame of the video.
 14. The method of claim 13, whereincompressing the digitized frame comprises decimating the digitizedframe.
 15. The method of claim 13, wherein compressing the digitizedframe comprises compressing the digitized frame using JPEG standard. 16.The method of claim 1, wherein the stored frame is displayed in aninteractive programming guide.
 17. The method of claim 1, wherein thestored frame is displayed in a full screen television mode.
 18. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the digitized frame is stored in anadvertisement database.
 19. The method of claim 1, wherein the digitizedframe is combined with data stored in an advertisement database.
 20. Atelevision system for capturing a video frame related to a product froma video signal, the system comprising: a receiver for receiving a videoin the video signal, the video comprising a plurality of frames relatingto the product; a decoder for decoding a trigger in the video signal,the trigger identifying one of the plurality of frames relating to theproduct; a video display generator for digitizing the frame identifiedby the trigger, responsive to the received trigger; a memory for storingthe digitized frame, responsive to the received trigger; an input devicefor invoking software to perform a function related to the product; adisplay screen for displaying the stored frame, responsive to theinvoking the software; and control circuitry configured to provide anoption to purchase the product related to the stored frame.
 21. Thetelevision system of claim 20, further comprising a communication linkfor downloading the software, wherein the software includes aninteractive application for performing a function related to the productand an input device for invoking the downloaded software to perform thefunction related to the product.
 22. The television system of claim 21,wherein the software is downloaded from a vertical blanking interval ofthe video signal.
 23. The television system of claim 21, wherein thecommunication link is the Internet.
 24. The television system of claim21, wherein the communication link is a telephone network.
 25. Thetelevision system of claim 21, wherein the communication link is awireless network.
 26. The television system of claim 21, wherein thecommunication link is a pager network.
 27. The television system ofclaim 20, wherein the downloaded software includes code for purchasingthe product.
 28. The television system of claim 20, wherein thedownloaded software includes code for displaying more information aboutthe product.
 29. The television system of claim 20, the display screendisplays the received video frame.
 30. The television system of claim20, wherein the receiver receives the video in a broadcast video signal.31. The television system of claim 20, wherein the receiver receives thevideo in a replay of a recorded video signal.
 32. The television systemof claim 20, further comprising an image compressor for compressing thedigitized frame.
 33. The television system of claim 32, wherein theimage compressor is a PIP circuit.
 34. The television system of claim32, wherein the image compressor is a JPEG compressor.
 35. Thetelevision system of claim 20, wherein the stored image is displayed inan interactive programming guide.
 36. The television system of claim 20,wherein the stored frame is displayed in a full screen television mode.37. The television system of claim 20, further comprising anadvertisement database for storing the digitized frame.
 38. Thetelevision system of claim 20, further comprising an advertisementdatabase for storing advertisement data and storing the digitized framedata in combination with a portion of the stored advertisement data. 39.A television commerce system for capturing a video frame related to aproduct from a video signal, the system comprising: means for receivinga video in the video signal, the video comprising a plurality of framesrelating to the product; means for receiving a trigger in the videosignal, the trigger identifying one of the plurality of frames relatingto the product; means for digitizing the frame identified by thetrigger, responsive to the received trigger; means for storing thedigitized frame, responsive to the received trigger; means for invokingsoftware to perform a function related to the product; means fordisplaying the stored frame, responsive to the invoking the software;and means for providing an option to purchase the product related to thestored frame.